Late evening Friday, January 25, U.S. Sentencing Commission website was hacked and government files distributed by Anonymous in what the group calls “Operation Last Resort.” Anonymous suggested retaliation for the recent suicide of Aaron Swartz as a “line that has been crossed.” Swartz was facing a potential sentence of dozens of years in prison for allegedly trying to make MIT academic journal articles public. Many – including the family – believe his suicide was a result of overzealous prosecution by the Department of Justice and what the family deemed a “bullying” use of outdated computer crime laws.

Question: Is cyber warfare justified in the presence of a government who are defying the Constitution, trampling the rights of its citizens and disregarding the laws of the land?
Regardless of your view of the Swartz case, let us use this as an example of action by a group of citizens who disagree with constitutional malfeasance and insist on a right-is-right-and-wrong-is-wrong philosophy. Then is cyber warfare a potential tool in the arsenal of law abiding citizens who must stem the tide for the protection of our children as well as ourselves? The ballot box doesn’t seem to be working, so is another tool our next choice?

Yes, cyber warfare is “not nice,” just like all warfare according to Barbara Bush. (“War is not nice.”) But, for millenia, war has been necessary to make right, at specific times in history. Joshua fought at God’s command, our American Revolution yielded freedom from tyranny, the Civil War abolished slavery — all moral warfare.

So, again, is cyber warfare a potential tool in the arsenal of law abiding citizens? Guns, for example, the current politically hot object of consideration, can destroy human life if used in the wrong manner. They can also be used to harvest meat for our stomachs and to recreate in various sports. Cyber attacks can also be used detrimentally, as viciously mean acts, but might they not also be used to right the wrong the government is bringing to its citizens? With the MSM (main-stream media) sold out to the self-serving politicians, might cyber warfare be used to uncover the secrets and lies we are being told?